Mayor to get apology for unwanted phone calls

ELYRIA — The telephone harassment charges filed against a woman who was a one-time love interest of Mayor Bill Grace and a former City Council candidate have been dropped after an agreement was reached that calls for a written apology to the mayor.

The four counts of telephone harassment have been dismissed against Sherry Ames, whose name appeared on the May primary ballot as Sherry Tulk when she sought the Democratic nomination for the 7th Ward, said the city’s Chief Prosecutor Jay Grunda. Ames ultimately lost the nomination to retired city worker Jerry McHugh, who will face independent candidate Edward Sinegar on Nov. 3.

Ames, 48, was accused of telephone harassment for incidents that happened in June 2008 and February 2009, according to Elyria Municipal Court records. It was then Grace said Ames called him repeatedly despite him telling her the calls were unwanted.

Grace has previously said he and Ames dated for a few months more than four years ago and that things turned rocky around the time of the allegations.

In exchange for the dismissal, Grunda said Ames will write a letter of apology to Grace admitting her wrongdoing and have no contact with him except for official city business and meetings. There can be no negative contact during those times, Grunda said.

Also, Ames will undergo a psychological evaluation and follow all resulting recommendations as well as not contest any civil protection order Grace may seek.

The agreement was reached Tuesday in Judge John Musson’s courtroom.

On Wednesday, Grace said he was happy the situation was finally resolved and he was ready to put everything behind him.

Ames’ attorney Paul Griffin could not be reached for comment. However, Grunda said everyone was in agreement that the resolution was for the best.

“This was made to bring closure to the incident so that both individuals could go on with their daily lives,” he said.

Grunda said he believes if the matter had been decided by the courts the resolution would have been similar.

Ames was ordered to pay court costs for the proceedings, and there is a stipulation attached to the agreement that allows the prosecution to re-file the charges if she fails to abide by the agreement.